There continue to be reports of people receiving phone calls from “agents” who are claiming to be from the Internal Revenue Service. These fraudulent callers use scare tactics and aggressive tones to frighten and confuse the taxpayer, threatening to involve the police or deport their victim if they fail to cooperate.
In most cases they demand that the victim pay a balance that is allegedly due by the taxpayer via wire transfer which can sometimes result in your identity being stolen through the process.
Remember, the IRS will never:
- Call you and demand that you pay them immediately. Any billing from the IRS will always come in the form of a letter in the mail.
- Require you to pay your taxes without giving you the opportunity to question or appeal the amount that you owe.
- Ask for credit card or debit card numbers via phone. The IRS doesn’t require that you pay a specific way, such as a wire transfer or prepaid debit card.
- Threaten to bring in other government agencies, such as the Police or Immigration to arrest you for not sending payment.
- If you believe that you don’t owe taxes, DO NOT PROVIDE ANY INFORMATION and hang up the phone immediately.
Contact TIGTA (Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration) at 800-366-4484 or Report the Call Here.
